The proposed construction is a renovation of an existing laboratory building at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research that will provide offices and laboratories for 6 current faculty in the Department of Genetics. This proposed construction is an integral part of a 3-phase master plan to modernize the laboratory facilities at SFBR over a 10 year period with the intent of providing facilities that adhere to current safety standards for biomedical research laboratories. Phase I was started in 1997 and the proposed construction represents a portion of the second phase of our plan. The specific aims of this proposal are to provide laboratory facilities for investigators with research programs in molecular and biochemical genetics that will promote efficient use of laboratory space by increasing the amount of core space shared between research program, that will place these programs in biosafety level 2 conditions that do not exist in their current laboratories, and that will foster scientific interactions by locating these programs in adjacent space. Thus the design of the proposed laboratory facility will provide additional space currently needed by these programs wile also improving the working environment for faculty and staff.